Developing device for films



June 27, 1961 K. HANSEN ETAL 2,990,128

DEVELOPING DEVICE FOR FILMS Filed Jan. 25, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGKaare Hansen 8 INVENTOR$ Er/ing Johannes/(nufsen Arforneys June 27, 1961K. HANSEN ETAL 2,990,128

DEVELOPING DEVICE FOR FILMS Filed- Jan. 25, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 KaareHcmseU-Wf ff/171g Johannes Knufsen Attorneys 2,990,128 DEVELOPING DEVICEFOR FILMS V Kaare Hansen, Statens Skjermbildefotografering, Oslo,Norway, and Erling Johannes Knutsen, Storlokka, Honefoss, Norway I FiledJan. 25, 1957, 'Ser. No. 636,396 Claims priority, application SwedenFeb. 2, 1956 9 Claims. (Cl. 242-771) The present invention relates to adevice for carrying film bands during developing and the like.

Spools for securing a film band during developing, fixing and the likeare previously known, comprising two disks coaxially disposed andbetween which the film band is retained in spiral shaped grooves. Theseknown devices have suffered from the inconvenience that the circulationof liquid around the film band has been poor even though it might havebeen somewhat improved by apertures arranged in the bottom of thegrooves for the film band. Besides, a portion of the liquid has alwaysremained in the grooves. Therefore it has been impossible to dry thefilm band while the same remains in the spool, as the emulsion layer ofthe film, in drying, sticks to the wall of the groove along practicallythe whole length of the film band.

By means of the device according to the invention these inconveniencesare eliminated. The device according to the invention permits a properliquid circulation around each part of the film band wound on the spool,and in removing the developing spool from the developing bath or thelike practically all the liquid pours otf when the spool is lightlyshaken. Furthermore, the film band makes contact with the developingspool along very small surfaces only which in connection with theexcellent liquid drainage makes it possible to allow the film band todry while remaining in the spool. I

The device according to the invention comprises a spool with two diskscoaxially disposed and joined together by means of a central pin, saiddisks having members for retaining the film band bet-ween the disks inthe shape of a spiral with spaced coils and is characterized in thateach disk has several ribs radially disposed and fixedly connected to ahub and provided with teeth on the edge opposing the other disk in sucha manner that the teeth interspaces are positioned on a-spiral, theteeth forming carrying members for the film band.

Suitably the spaces between the ribs are substantially completely openso that developing liquid and air may freely pass between the ribs.

For winding the film onto the spool in an eflicient manner according tothe invention a special film guide member is provided.

Known film winding devices have a guide member, holding the film bandcurved transversely so that it is introduced between the walls of thespool without coming into contact with said grooves until the moment itis released from the guide member, at which it recovers a plane formtransversely due to its inherent resilience, and the edges run into therespective spiral grooves. In employing such guide members the filmspool is generally disposed vertically, that is with a horizontal axisof rotation, and the guide member is adapted so as to be resting,actuated by its own weight, upon the next preceding coil of the film.The spool may, in another arrangement, also be disposed horizontally,the position of the guide member being controlled by that part of 'thefilm band which has already been threaded into the spiral grooves.

United States Patent 2,990,128 Patented June 27, 19 6 1 operates verywell but when irregularities of the fihn band appear, such as the edgebeing uneven or defective, it might occur that the edges of the filmband are fed into the wrong spiral groove. This may in turn cause twocoils of the film to be accommodated in the same spiral groove which inthe following developing and drying procedure will cause these coils tostick together and the film may be destroyed.

The risk of the film band to be fed into the Wrong groove is especiallygreat with a developing spool according to the invention where thespiral grooves do not have continuously interconnecting walls, as inthis case the interrupted wall sections may easily catch the edges ofthe film too early and pull the edges into the wrong groove.

In the film winding device according to the invention the risk offeeding one or both edges of the film band into the wrong groove isavoided in a simple manner. The device according to the invention ischaracterized in that it comprises a movable guide member forintroducing the film band into the developing spool and a guide platewhich is adapted to rotate with the developing spool and which isprovided with a spiral groove corresponding to the spiral groove of thedeveloping spool, the guide member being arranged to cooperate with saidspiral groove in the guide plate, whereby the guide member duringrotation of the spool will always follow the spiral groove of the spool.

The invention will be described in greater detail hereinafter withreference to the attached drawing showing an embodiment of the spooltogether with the film winding device according to the invention. FIGURE1 shows a top plan view of the arrangement and FIGURE 2 shows a crosssection along the line 22 of FIGURE 1. FIG. 3 is an elevational view ofa detail.

The device illustrated presents a frame or base plate 1 disposed on legs2. A pin or shaft 3 is fixedlydisposed on this plate. :Irnmediatelyabove the plate. 1 a guide plate 4 is rotatably arranged about theshaft'3 by means of a bearing 5. This guide plate is provided on the topside with a spiral groove, the function of which will be described ingreater detail later on. An electric motor 6 is also arranged on theplate 1, the motor shaft being provided with a roller 7, made of rubber,for instance. This roller bears against the edge of the guide plate 4and drives this plate by friction.

A developing spool 8 is detachably arranged on the shaft 3. This spoolconsists of two circular disks 9 and 10 and a hub portion 11. The disksand the hub are held together by means of a pair of nuts 12 and 13.Hence, the same disks may be arranged on hubs of varying widths,corresponding to different film widths.

Each of disks 9 and 10 consists of a central portion 14 and a number ofribs 15 having rectangular cross sections and extending radially, spacedfrom one another, from the central portion. These ribs are held togetherby two circular ribs 16 and 17. Each rib 15 is provided with teeth 18,19 on the edge facing the other disk. The teeth are formed in such amanner that the interspaces between the teeth are positioned on a spiralpath, the teeth preferably being made by turning, in a lathe, a spiralgroove 40 in the disk after the same has been assembled. The teeth 18,19 are so shaped that they have a triangular cross section with the edge18, facing the periphery of the disk, running perpendicularly to thedisk. The grooves of disks 9 and 10 have the same pitch as the groove 40of the guide plate 4.

A pin 36 is arranged on the guide plate 4 adjacent to its centre. Arecess, corresponding to the pin 36, is arranged in the central portionof lower disk 10. When the developing spool is placed upon the shaft 3the spool is turned until the pin 36 engages said recess whereupon thespool 8 and the plate 4 can not be turned relative to each other.

The film band is introduced to the developing spool by means of a guidemember generally designated 21. This member consists of two sheet platm22 and 23 which are firmly joined together and turnably arranged .on apin 24 vertically disposed on the base plate 1.

The edges 25, 26 of sheet plates 22, 23 are bent towards each other soas to form two guide channels for the film .band. The sheet plates 22,23 are arranged at such a distance from each other that they may beswung in between the disks 9 and of the developing spool. For thisreason a filmband 34 positioned between the sheet plates 22, 23 will bebent transversely as may be seen from FIGURE 2. So as to retain the filmband between the guide channels, two rollers 28, 29 are arranged on eachof sheet plates 22, 23, said rollers being rotatable around a centralpin and shaped with a tapered cross section. Moreover, a roller 27'isdisposed between the two guide channels, said roller engaging the outerside of the fihn band, that is the convex side. In the case illustratedthis roller is shaped with a concave cross section which substantiallycorresponds to the curved configuration of the film band disposedbetweenthe guide channels.

' When the developing spool rotates the guide member .21'is positivelyguided by means of the guide plate 4. An arm 30 is attached to the guidemember 21, said arm extending between the lowerdisk 10 of the develop--ing spool and the guide plate 4. At its" end the-arm 30 is providedwith a finger 31 adapted to engage the groove in the top side of theguide plate 4; The finger 31 is preferably disposed verticallyunderneath the edges 25, 26of the guide member. The finger carrying arm30 should suitably be adjustably attached to the guide member so that itmay be adjusted laterally causing the edge of'the film band 34, inleaving guide channels 25, 26', to be located right opposite a groove inthe disks 9 and 10.

The other end of the arm 30 is provided with a handle 32 by means ofwhich the arm can be actuated vertically so that the finger 31 may beraised and thereby be disengaged from the spiral groove in the guideplate- 4. Hereby the guide member 21 may be swung in and'out between thedisks 9 and 10 of the developing spool in dependent of the guide plate4. i

In order to prevent thefinger 31 01" the inlet section of the groove inthe guide plate 4, that is' that section of the groove which is locatedimmediate to the shaft-3, from being damagedwhen startingthe windingaction, the plate 4 may be provided'irnmediate to the shaft 3 with arecess portion the bottom of which being flush with the bottom of thespiral groove in the same plate. A leaf spring may be adapted in thisrecess portion so as to automatically feed the finger 31 into the innerend of the spiral groove when thegplate 4 is rotated in the rightdirection, while when the plate 4 rotates in the wrong direction thefinger 31 will be allowed to pass freely by said leaf spring.

When a film is to be wound upon the developing spool the roll of film isarranged around a pin 33 disposed on the base plate 1. The free end ofthe film band is introduced between the guide channels, the guide member21 then suitably being moved into its innermost position. However, thisis not necessary, as the winding may start at any coil of the spiralgroove. The film band which is curved transversely when being betweenthe guide channels will straighten again when it leaves the guide memberdue to its inherent resilience and snaps in between those teeth of theribs which form the corresponding coils of the spiral grooves in thedisks 9 and 10. When the end of the film band has been introduced byhand so far that it, for instance, will describe a semicircle on thedeveloping spool, generally the friction between the spool and the bandis so great that the motor -6 can be started whereupon the-windingproceeds automatically. In order to obtain a safer securing of the endof the film band in the spool this end may be folded so that the foldedflap 35 engages one tooth on each of the reels 9 and 10, ensuring a safesecuring. As the winding proceeds the guide member 21 moves outwardlyunder the action of the guide plate 4 so that the film band, leaving theguide channels, is fed into the right coil of the grooves.

When the whole film band has been wound onto the spool-the guide memberis swung out so that it clears the spool 8 and the latter is detachedfrom the shaft 3 whereupon the spool with the film band may be subjectedto the desired treatment, for instance submerging into a developingbath. After the treatment of the film is finished most of the adheringliquid is removed by shaking whereupon the film may be allowed to drywhile still remaining in the spool.

In order to minimize the adherence between the film and the ribs 15,'theribs of course should be as narrow as possible in view of the strengthof material. For instance, it has been found that for spools having adiameter of 200300 mm. a width of up to 2-3 mm. is suitable for theribs. If desired, the edge engaging the film band may be made narrowerthan the rest of the rib.

We claim:

l. A film' holding reel of the type used in film developing tanks,comprising a hub, a plurality of radially extending spoke members onboth ends of said hub and fixedly attached thereto, each of said spokemembers being provided on its inner face with a row of teeth,corresponding teeth of adjacent spoke members being radially displacedrelative to each other whereby the interspaces of said teeth on saidspoke members define interrupted spiral film tracks for both edges ofthe film, a guide plate disposed underneath said spoke members having aspiral groove facing said spoke members, and a guide member for the filmhaving an arm extending between the lower spoke members and said guideplate provided with a finger to cooperate with the spiral groove of saidguide plate.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said arm is provided with meansfor raising and lowering the same so that said finger may be disengagedfrom the spiral groove of said guide plate.

3. A device according to claim 2 wherein said guide member is rotatablycarried on an axis parallel to the axis of said hub.

4. A device according to claim 2 wherein said guide plate is arrangedcoaxially to said hub.

5. A film holding reel of the type used in film developing tanks,comprising a hub, a plurality of radially extending spoke members onboth ends of said hub and fixedly attached thereto, each of said spokemembers being provided on its inner face with a row of teeth,corresponding teeth of adjacent spoke members being radially displacedrelative to each other whereby the interspaces of said teeth on saidspoke members define interrupted spiral film tracks for both edges ofthe film, a movable guide member for introducing a film between saidspoke members and a guide plate having a spiral groove corresponding tosaid spiral film track, said guide member cooperating with said spiralgroove in said guide plate whereby said guide member upon rotation ofsaid reel will always follow said spiral track.

6. In a device for winding photographic roll film to be processed in aspiral having spaced convolutions, a film holding reel comprising a hub,a plurality of radial spoke members on both ends of said hub and fixedlyattached thereto, each of said spoke members being provided on its innerface with a row of teeth, corresponding teeth of adjacent spoke membersbeing radially displaced relative to each other whereby the interspacesof said teeth on said spoke members define interrupted spiral tracks forthe edges of said film, and means to feed the edges of said film intosaid interrupted spiral tracks, comprising a guide plate disposedunderneath said spoke members on one end of said hub and having a spiralgroove facing said spoke members, and a guide member for the film havingan arm extending between said spoke members on one end of said hub andsaid guide plate and provided with a finger to cooperate with the spiralgroove of said guide plate.

7. A device according to claim 6 wherein said am has means for raisingthe same so as to thereby disengage said finger from said spiral grooveof said guide plate.

8. In a device for winding photographic roll film to be processed in aspiral having spaced convolutions, a film holding reel comprising a hub,a plurality of radially extending spoke members on both ends of said huband fixedly attached thereto, each of said spoke members being providedon its inner face with a row of teeth, corresponding teeth of adjacentspoke members being radially displaced relative to each other wherebythe interspaces of said teeth on said spoke members define interruptedspiral tracks for both edges of the film, means to feed the edges of thefilm into said interrupted spiral tracks comprising a movable guidemember for introducing a roll film between said spoke members on bothends of said hub and a guide plate connected for simultaneous rotationwith said film holding reel and having a spiral groove corresponding tosaid interrupted spiral tracks, said guide member cooperating with saidspiral groove in said guide plate whereby said guide member uponrotation of said film holding reel will follow said interrupted spiraltracks.

9. A device according to claim 8 wherein said guide plate is arrangedcoaxially to said film holding reel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS957,991 McLeod May 17, 1910 1,188,217 Stehle June 20, 1916 2,280,113Andrews Apr. 21, 1942 2,297,525 Anheuser Sept. 29, 1942 2,315,532 Luciaet a1. Apr. 6, 1943 2,371,073 Smith Mar. 6, 1945 2,461,039 Debrie Feb.8, 1949 2,608,357 Brearton Aug. 26, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 555,485 GreatBritain Aug. 25, 1943 652,611 Great Britain Apr. 25, 1951 878,501 FranceOct. 12, 1942

